SACRAMENTO / 6-month delay likely in new power adapter standards / State energy panel proposes extension till next January

Greg Lucas, Chronicle Staff Writer

Published 4:00 am, Friday, February 17, 2006

2006-02-17 04:00:00 PDT Sacramento -- The California Energy Commission, bowing to objections by the electronics manufacturing industry, wants to postpone the effective date of regulations designed to improve the efficiency of power adapters that charge laptops, cell phones, digital cameras and myriad other household devices.

Originally set to take effect July 1, the regulations are aimed at reducing the power consumed when the adapters -- sometimes referred to as "wall warts" -- are plugged in but not charging and the power wasted when they do charge a device.

Retailer Radio Shack, power-tool makers and the Consumer Electronics Association, an industry trade group, lobbied the commission to make the new rules take effect in July 2007. They plan to keep pushing for the yearlong delay while the commission conducts public hearings on its proposed extension.

Under the commission's proposed change, manufacturers will have until January 2007 to meet the efficiency standards.

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Supporters of the one-year delay said some manufacturers could not switch to new adapters quickly enough to meet the 2006 deadline, despite having 18 months to do so since the standards were adopted in December 2004 and being able to continue selling adapters made before the July deadline until 2009.

"The commission felt that a six-month delay makes the California standards consistent with effective dates of similar standards adopted in other states and does not disproportionately harm those companies that have made good faith efforts to comply with the original effective date," said Jackalyne Pfannenstiel, the energy commission's vice chair.

Supporters of the regulations were disappointed by the delay but portrayed the six-month postponement as a reasonable compromise.

"That's preferable to weakening the standards, as some would have preferred," said Noah Horowitz, a senior scientist for the Natural Resources Defense Council who wrote a 2002 report on improving the energy efficiency of household appliances. "It's unfair to folks like Hewlett-Packard who were proactive and able to meet the deadline. Other companies weren't proactive, and that's why they wanted the exemption."

Doug Johnson, senior director of technology policy for the Consumer Electronics Association, said the extension was a step in the right direction but not enough.

"The positive news is the commission has recognized there are serious problems with these regulations," Johnson said. "The six-month extension is the commission's gesture, but our industry has said for some time a year's extension is most appropriate."

Johnson said his association would continue to push for a yearlong delay between now and April 12 when the commission is expected to make its final decision on the extension.

As large energy guzzlers like refrigerators and heating and cooling systems have become more efficient, smaller appliances -- from televisions to cordless phones -- are becoming bigger contributors to home energy bills. Electronic devices already represent more than 10 percent of an average household's electrical usage.

When implemented, the regulations will make power adapters use less energy when not charging and transfer power to the device it's charging more efficiently.

Delaying the effective date means consumers will continue to waste energy when they leave the adapters plugged in but not charging. The simplest way to save energy: unplug the wall wart when not using it.

Horowitz's study says improving the efficiency of some devices could increase their cost by $1 or as little as 25 to 30 cents.

An efficient adapter saves about 5 kilowatt-hours each year. One kilowatt-hour is the amount of electricity used by a 100-watt bulb in 10 hours.

At California's current electric rates, each efficient adapter would shave 70 cents a year off energy costs -- enough savings to pay for the additional cost of the adapter in roughly one year, according to Chris Calwell, vice president of Ecos Consulting, which conducted some of the research that led to the regulations.

Estimates for the number of adapters in a house vary. The U.S Environmental Protection Agency says there are five adapters for each American. A household averages between eight and 12 adapters, Calwell estimates.

Assuming a five-year lifetime for the adapters, that would generate total savings of between $28 to $42, Calwell said.